Anita D Russell, MEd, CPLC
TRANSFORMATIONAL LIFE COACH | SPEAKER | AUTHOR | PODCASTER
Life is too great a gift to not live fully. It’s continuous learning and discovery, growing and changing. How well you navigate it all determines how high you SOAR. My mission is to help YOU SOAR.
– Anita D Russell

MILESTONE AUTHOR EVENTS
Several works have sprung forth out of Anita since 2014.
- Cultivating Change from the Inside Out: The Power of Being Human (2021), second independent project
- Voices of the 21st Century: Resilient Women Who Rise and Make a Difference (2021), International Bestseller, fourth collaboration project
- Voices of the 21st Century: Bold, Brave and Brilliant Women Who Make a Difference (2019), International Bestseller, third collaboration project
- I Wanna See Laney’s House (2019), first independent project
- Empower Your Life (2018), Amazon #1 Bestseller, second collaboration project
- Motherhood Dreams and Success (2018), International Best Selling Author, first collaboration project
- New Book Releases
Official Author Site | Online Book Store | Amazon Author Page

Founder/CEO The Place to SOAR, a social enterprise dedicated to cultivation change through daily growth and personal development for the purpose of unleashing human potential.
MILESTONE CAREER EVENTS
- Left a corporate career to pursue life as a social entrepreneur
- Redesigned my life based on a purposeful vision and mission
- Founded The Place to SOAR
- Became a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Teacher, Trainer and Speaker
- Became the Global Business Connector Pittsburgh-PA for Women Speakers Association
VISION | MISSION | PURPOSE
The SOAR concept —Step Out and Redesign—grew out of my personal life experiences, starting in 2013 when I retired early and walked away from a successful corporate career. My vision is to cultivate change through daily growth and personal development for the purpose of unleashing human potential. My unique purpose plays out in life as a “change cultivator”.
To accomplish my vision, mission and purpose, I created the following:
- The Place to SOAR – a social enterprise dedicated to cultivating change
- 6 Keys to Nurture, Grow and Empower Your Life
- 10 SOAR Values – the foundation of The Place to SOAR.
- SOAR Coaching Academy – client-centric focus
- I Wanna See Laney’s House: A Sibling Story – author blog
- The Place to SOAR TV – community stories
- Books to SOAR By – online bookstore
BACKSTORY
After nearly 23 years with the same company things changed dramatically for me when I found myself reporting to a manager with a very different value system than my own. And for the first time in my career I felt disrespected in my work environment.
So, I did what every child of God does…I prayed about it and the answer from God was quite plain and simple: It’s time for you to move on. I realized that I had given all I had to give and gained all I had to gain and God was putting me on a different path in life
On February 1, 2013 I did something that many people believed to be unthinkable and terribly risky. I took early “retirement” from my 9-5 career and embarked on a journey to redesign my life; that is a rechartering of my life based on purpose. 2013 became my year to begin walking fully in my purpose for being, which I define as “Investing in the growth and development of people and helping YOU SOAR.”
MY BOSS
Imagine designing a life where faith and business converge. I planted seeds along the way that are growing into a harvest of purpose that reflects my desire to allow God to be my BOSS in life. That is to say I…
BELIEVE His word even when I don’t understand it.
OBEY His word even when I can’t explain why.
SPEAK His word even when it falls on deaf ears.
SERVE others through His word and realize this is my God-given purpose.